The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-11-15


- Regarding the doctors and interpreters
employed by me in accordance with Arti-
Giles and of the new Convention, it is dis
tinctly understood and agreed by me that
should your Excellency pay me now the
advances and passage money, amounting
to So ,875, such action on your Excellency's
part will not be construed by me as binding
the Government in any way to compensate
said Interpreters and doctors hereafter.
a. trust, however, that your Excellency
Will bring the matter to the attention of the
Legislative Assembly with proper recon-
mendation on your Excellency's part"
9. Upon this statement being made, Mr..
c. T. Gulick, President of the Board of Inn
migration, under date of April 6, 1886, au
thorized the payment of said sum of $3.50,
which was done, and Mr.. Nacayama there
upon notified each of the physicians and
interpreters in the following words-viz.:
Mr.. SIR: You are sent to
- Plantation and other plantations in
- in private capacity, and at present
not as an officer Of the Hawaiian Govern
ment. 4.
10. Your committee are credibly in
formed that Mr.. Gibson agreed to lay the
matter before the Legislature, which was
to meet in the following month, and as
that would have been the proper course,
believe that he did so agree AS matter
of fact the subject was not referred to the
Legislature, and most of the physicians and
Interpreters have continued to act up to the
present time without any action having
been taken by the Government, although
they have repeatedly urged a settlement.
IL. Your committee are informed that
negotiations are now being carried on with
the Japanese Government looking toward
the cancellation of Articles and of the
Convention with prospect of success above
mentioned, and that the claimants have
agreed to cancel their contracts as of the
18th July last if they are paid up to that
date. Your committee feel that they can
not too strongly condemn the action, or
rather inactiOn, of the late Government in
its treatment of this subject. The Govern
ment should have refused to receive or ac-
knowledge them or permitted them to be
sent to the different plantations, provided
they did not wish to employ them. There
can be no question but that the heavy
schedule of charges incurred by Mr. Irwin
was unauthorized, and that it was sum
properly payable by neither the Govern
ment nor the planters. Had the matter
been properly brought before the Legisla-
ture in the spring of 1886, as it should have
been, there is little doubt that so large an
appropriation would have been refused, in
which case the matter could then and there
have been adjusted. Instead of doing this
an utter neglect of the subject was the pol
icy pursued The physicians and inter
prefers have undoubtedly acted in good
faith, and although they had no legal claim
upon their arrival here under their con-
tracts, the person who signed them on be-
half of the Government having no author
ity SO to do, their services have been
accepted. They have been recognized and
made use of by the Government in their
respective capacities as interpreters and
physicians, and it is a question whether
they could not recover judgment in suit
for labor performed. Irrespective OF the
personal claim of the physicians and inter
prefers. the question of good faith with the
Japanese Government is, in the opinion of
your committee, decisive of this question.
By the terms of the Convention the Japa-
nese Government agreed to allow Japanese
labOrers to come here upon certain condi-
tons, one of which was that Japanese in
terpreters and physicians should be en-
ployed by the Hawaiian Government.
This was a condition involving the expen-
diture of money, and should therefore have
been submitted to the Legislature for rati-
fcation. This the Hawaiian Government
neglected to do. Such neglect cannot be
imputed to, or cited against the japanese
Government, who have in good faith car
ried out their portion of the agreement.
No other physicians and Interpreters than
the claimants have been employed; there
fore if we have kept faith with Japan, the
claimants must be the persons who have
been engaged under the Convention and
are entitled to be paid. If, on the other
hand, we claim that these physicians and
Interpreters have not been employed by
the Hawaiian Government, we thereby
convict ourselves of breach of faith with
Japan, because no others have been. The
sum claimed is a large one, but your COM
mittee are of opinion that it is better to pay
it than to break treaty obligation. We
therefore recommend that sum be appro-
priated large enough to cover the entire
amount of the claims; that the Minister of
the Interior be instructed to thoroughly in
vestigate each claim, deducting therefrom
such advances or payments as may have
heretofore been made, and to settle all such
claims as can be shown to be bona fide, true
and just, settling with each individual claim
ant personally. H. P. BALDWIN,
CECIL BROWN
G. BERTELMANN
CHARLES MOTLEY,
Jos. u. KAWAINUI
Noble Castle moved the report be
adopted.
Noble DR.. Wright seconded the motion
and thought the committee ought to receive
the thanks of the House for the very full